The present invention relates to an exhaust gas muffler for an internal combustion engine, especially for the internal combustion engine in a manually-guided implement such as a power saw, a cut-off machine, or the like.
An exhaust gas muffler is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,690. To achieve an adequate exhaust gas quality, a catalytic converter, in which a post treatment of exhaust gas is effected, is disposed in the housing of the exhaust gas muffler between the inlet and the outlet in the direction of flow. Such a catalytic converter leads to an increase in the weight of the exhaust gas muffler, which is a particular drawback in manually-guided implements. At the same time, conventional catalytic converters are susceptible to external influences, such as, for example, the quality of the fuel used for the internal combustion engine. The use of the wrong fuel can lead to destruction of the catalytic converter. Furthermore, the raw materials from which the catalytic converter is made, are rare and expensive.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an exhaust gas muffler of the aforementioned general type that has a low weight and ensures a good exhaust gas quality.